From the monthly archives:

October 2009

Lawyer Claims Rapist “Misread the Situation”

by Cara October 26, 2009

In Scotland, a man was convicted of raping a woman who fell asleep on his couch. She was unconscious throughout the assault, and woke to find herself partially undressed. Craig Byars admitted to the rape and has been sentenced to four years in jail. But in spite of that confession, his lawyer is still making [...]

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New York Ruling Eases Name Changes for Transgender People

by Cara October 22, 2009

The New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan has made a ruling that will make it easier for transgender people to petition for a name change. The ruling overturned a previous decision by a lower court: Should a transgender person seeking judicial permission to change her or his name be required to furnish medical documentation [...]

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National Survey On Children’s Exposure To Violence

by Cara October 21, 2009

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a national report called Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey (pdf). It’s being billed as the most comprehensive study to date on children’s exposure to violence in the United States. The resulting statistics are pretty terrifying. From the introduction: More than 60 percent of the children [...]

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Judge Refers to Convicted Rapist’s Actions as “Rough Play”

by Cara October 17, 2009

Trigger Warning I’ve written before about Fernando Manuel Alves, a pub owner who was convicted of brutally raping a drugged and unconscious woman, and the judge who decided not to send him to jail because he deemed the rape a crime of opportunity. Now, via Broadsides, we’ve got the actual decision, and what it contains [...]

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Attorney Uses “Boys Will Be Boys” Defense in Alleged Sexual Assault

by Cara October 16, 2009

Last week, a freshman at the University of Maryland allegedly gained access to a dorm that was not his own, entered a female student’s room and woke her up by trying to kiss her. He also twice tried to put his hands down her shorts. When the victim screamed, he allegedly ran across the hallway [...]

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Boss Admits to Firing Woman Because of Her Gender Identity

by Cara October 12, 2009

Vandy Beth Glenn was fired in 2007 when she informed her boss her boss that she was a trans woman with plans to begin her transition. With Lambada Legal, she has since launched a federal lawsuit against her former employer, the Georgia General Assembly. (Yes, you did in fact read that correctly — her employer [...]

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Discussion on Rape Culture on Womanist Musings Blogtalk Radio Podcast

by Cara October 10, 2009

Tomorrow, Sunday, October 11 at 8pm EST, I’ll be on the Womanist Musings Blogtalk Radio show. Melissa McEwan from Shakesville and I will be discussing rape culture, as well as the Roman Polanski case, with Renee Martin and her podcast co-host Monica Roberts from Transgriot. I’m not quite entirely sure at the moment what I’ll [...]

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Happy Birthday, Mr. Lennon

by Cara October 9, 2009

Today, October 9, is John Lennon’s birthday. He would have turned 69. It’s also my mom’s birthday, so Happy Birthday, Mom! (And let us not further forget Sean Lennon, and the fantabulous Giles Martin. Amazing people are born on October 9, that’s all I can say.) Last year, in honor of this day, I posted [...]

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All Denials of Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions Deserve Equal Outrage

by Cara October 8, 2009

You’ve almost certainly heard: in certain U.S. states, insurance companies are legally calling domestic violence a “pre-existing condition” and are therefore refusing to cover any treatment related to it. If the person in question doesn’t disclose the domestic violence prior to taking on insurance, they can have their coverage dropped by the insurance company. And, [...]

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U.S. Fence Causes Increase in Border Crossing Deaths

by Cara October 5, 2009

A recently released study by the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Mexico’s National Commission on Human Rights (h/t abbyjean) shows that there has been an increase in migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border in the past year: Marking the 15th anniversary of the misguided border strategy known as Operation [...]

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